Blue Jays’ Early Barrage Sinks Yankees

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Alex Rodriguez, right, with Carlos Beltran, after a sixth-inning home run. It was his first since Sept. 20, 2013.CreditJim Mcisaac/Getty Images

By Seth Berkman

April 9, 2015

For 2015, C. C. Sabathia has moved into the locker space at the rear of the Yankees’ clubhouse that once belonged to Derek Jeter. With question marks surrounding their starting rotation, the Yankees would welcome it if Sabathia could also fill a role once handled by Jeter — that of a stabilizing force on the field.

In his first start in 11 months, Sabathia at times looked dominant, but he was undone by a four-run second inning Thursday in the Yankees’ 6-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Sabathia was sharp in the first inning, striking out two of the first three batters while throwing a total of 13 pitches.

But the good vibes quickly evaporated when the Blue Jays began the second inning with three singles to load the bases. Kevin Pillar then singled to left field, scoring Edwin Encarnacion, the first of four runs in the inning.

“He did what he was supposed to do in a sense,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “He had some strikeouts. It’s just there are nights like that where the ball finds holes.”

In 2014, Sabathia pitched only 46 innings, finishing 3-4 with a 5.28 earned run average before degeneration of his knee cartilage cut his season short. He eventually had an arthroscopic operation in July. In the off-season, he received three platelet-rich plasma shots to bolster his recovery.

But Sabathia, the 2007 Cy Young Award winner, struggled in spring training, giving up nine runs in 10 innings.

His most recent outings at Yankee Stadium before Thursday’s game were also less than positive. On May 4, he yielded 10 hits and five earned runs over three and two-thirds innings. Over all, in three home starts last season, Sabathia was 0-3, giving up 13 earned runs in 152/3 innings.

Sabathia, though, was successful over much of his start Thursday. Trailing by 4-0, he rebounded in the third inning, striking out the first two batters he faced while retiring the Blue Jays in order. In the fourth, Sabathia struck out the side.

The Yankees, however, did not give him much run support. In the fourth inning, they had runners on second and third with no outs but did not score.

In the fifth inning, Didi Gregorius’s one-out single scored John Ryan Murphy for the Yankees’ first run. Any hopes of an extended rally were extinguished when Gregorius was caught making a wide turn and thrown out while trying to return to first.

“You got to read the throw and if the throw’s low enough, you can’t take that wide of a turn,” Girardi said.

The Blue Jays added an unearned run in the sixth inning against Sabathia to take a 5-1 lead.

With Josh Donaldson on first base, Danny Valencia hit a ground ball that went under the glove of a diving Gregorio Petit and into right field. Carlos Beltran’s attempt to throw Donaldson out at third was off line, and Donaldson scored as the ball skidded toward the Blue Jays’ dugout.

Valencia would be the last batter Sabathia faced; he exited after giving up five runs, four earned, while allowing eight hits and striking out eight over five and two-thirds innings.

Another key member of the Yankees’ staff, Masahiro Tanaka, lasted only four innings on opening day, giving up five runs, four of which were earned, in a 6-1 loss. He has a partly torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and elected to recover without surgery.

There are other uncertainties as well. Michael Pineda, who had a quality start in Wednesday’s 4-3 win, has only started 14 games since 2012. Nathan Eovaldi has a 15-35 career record. The No. 5 starter, Adam Warren, has three career starts.

At 34, Sabathia could become a financial albatross if his skills are diminishing. He is owed $48 million over the next two seasons and depending on his health, could earn a vesting option in 2017, for $25 million.

Thursday’s crowd showed little excitement through Sabathia’s uneven effort. Despite an announced paid attendance of 32,152, the stadium appeared to be less than half full. With the temperature at 42 degrees by the first pitch, one of the loudest ovations occurred when the comedian Jimmy Fallon was shown on the center field video board before the fourth inning.

There was a jolt of excitement in the sixth inning when Alex Rodriguez led off with a home run to left, his first since Sept. 20, 2013. He is now five behind Willie Mays on the career list.

In a rarity, Manager Joe Girardi batted Rodriguez second. In 2013, Rodriguez hit second in the order 14 times, going 8 for 48. From 2006 to 2012, he hit second in only three games.

“That’s a good sign for us,” Girardi said of Rodriguez’s home run. “We need that production from him.”

Mark Teixeira also hit his first home run of the season in the sixth. Both homers came off Blue Jays starter Daniel Norris, who earned his first career win. At 21, he is one of the organization’s most prized young arms.

After the game, Sabathia stood in front of his new locker and said his outing was “something to build on” and noted that he felt great.

“No walks and not a lot of good contact, so I think we threw the ball pretty good,” he said. “It was just bad luck.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B14 of the New York edition with the headline: Blue Jays’ Early Barrage Sinks Yankees. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe